Hackney hot-tippers are tops

YOUNG people from a college in Hackney, one of Britain's most deprived areas, have defied the odds in an investment challenge to beat pupils from some of the country's oldest and most exclusive public schools.

They outclassed teams from four other private schools and even outpaced City professionals over the same period. The five students from Hackney Community College grew an imaginary £1m by 3% over six months - earning £31,000 - in a virtual share-trading game organised by City bank Leopold Joseph.

The growth is impressive given that the FTSE All-Share index fell 7.6% in the same period. The average performance of the 312 funds that invest in British shares was an 11% loss over the same span, according to figures from the Investment Management Association.

'We're so proud of them,' said June Jarrett, who heads the college's sixth-form department in Shoreditch. 'To beat schools like that is no mean feat. They were up against pupils from privileged backgrounds with parents paying a fortune for their education.'

Hackney was one of two State schools to take part. The other was St Dominic's Sixth Form College in affluent Harrow, Middlesex. Hackney also beat Emanuel School in Clapham, South-West London, and Benenden Girls' School in Cranbrook-Kent. A team from Reed's School in Cobham, Surrey, came last, losing £70,000. Winchester College, where fees are £19,644 a year, lost £56,000.

The Hackney team correctly guessed that the stock market would fall, and invested only half the cash. Some of their best share plays were to buy into defence giant BAE Systems before the Iraq war and to back housebuilder Persimmon.

The team comprised Adetoro Aderibigbe, 18, Beenish Hussain, 21, her sister Afshin, 22, Salima Teladia, 19, and Michael Osafo, 20. All are taking an A-level in business economics.

Leopold Joseph, headed by chief executive Michael Quicke, will take the winners for work experience as part of their prize. Its members also collect £1500 for their school. 'We weren't surprised at how well the team did,' said Leopold Joseph's Danielle Weetman. 'When they came in for an investment training day beforehand, they were all very interested and asked lots of pertinent questions.'